Edgar County - American Courthouses

Edgar County is named for John Edgar, who was a pioneer merchant, politician and a land speculator.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Vermilion County

E – Vermillion County, Indiana and Vigo County, Indiana

S – Clark County

W – Coles County and Douglas County

Created: January 3, 1823

County Seat:

Paris 1823 – present

County Courthouse – Paris

Location: 115 West Court Street / North Main Street

Built: 1891 – 1893

Style: Romanesque

Architect: Henry Elliott of Chicago

Contractor: Hibbert Brothers

Description: The building faces west and is a two story yellow colored rough sandstone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Paris. The building is an octagonal shape. The entrances are at the corners of the building and have one story stone porticos with balcony above. The dormers are medieval in character. On the center of the roof is large square white colored wedding cake style tower rising in tiers to an octagonal cupola with clock and bell, white colored dome and a statue of Justice facing west at the top. The hipped roof is red colored slate. The interior has an entrance hallway on the second story and the building has marble floors, wainscoting, zinc stamped ceilings, stained glass windows and four large murals. The second story has a small County Circuit Court courtroom along the north side. Marble stairs ascend to the third story which has a large mural from the Chicago World’s Fair and the County Circuit Court courtroom along the southwest side. Wood stairs ascend to the clock tower. The former spectator gallery has been closed off and the elevator now occupies the area that was an open rotunda. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 5th Judicial Circuit.

See: The architect Henry Elliott of Chicago also designed courthouses in Greene County, Jersey County and Pike County.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Edgar County Courthouse

See: The 5th Judicial District includes Clark County, Coles County, Cumberland County and Vermilion County.

History: The county as created in 1823 and Paris was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was the Pearman Pharmacy at 116 West Court Street which building still stands. The second courthouse known as the “Rookery” was a two story brick structure built by Leander Munsell in 1832 at a cost of $4,250. The courthouse was demolished and the Courthouse Square remained vacant for five years until the third and present courthouse was constructed in 1891 to 1893 at a cost of $122,890.